Dump car door



Patented Feb. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES /PATENT' QFFICEE WILLIAM H. MUSSEY, or CHICAGO, AND JULIAN RUDULPI-I, or nonnwoon, LLINOIS, 'AssIGNoRs, BY MEsNn ASSIGNMENTS, To PU L-MAN CAR & MANUFAGTURING CORPORATION, A CORPORATION or DELAWARE DUIVJIIIE GAR DOOR Original application filed May 15, 1931, Serial No. 537,636, IQatent No. 1,859,261, May 17, 1932. ,Jiivided and this application filed October 12, 1931. Serial No. 563,338.v r

The invention relates generally .to discharge doors for dump cars and particularly adapted to hopper cars of the type indicated in co-pending application filed May 15, 1931,

11-5 Serial No. 537,636, now.Patent 1,859,261,

granted May 17, 1932, of which this application is a division.

One object of the invention is to provide a door construction having a plane face panel :10 portion presented to the lading and fashioned at its upper edge to provide a combined hinge 7 section and stiffening element for that por-.

tion of the door. g Another object is to provide a door fabri- 1.15 cated of pressed metal parts welded together and disposed and proportioned to form a unitary structure especially adapted to sustain a load imposed between its ends and designed to engage locking devices :at opposite sides .20 of the car.

The foregoingand other objects are attained by the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figures 1, 2, and3, show respectively an view, and a vertical sectional view taken on line 3 3, of Figure 1, showing the contour of thedoor hinge portion and door plate stiffeners; and

Figures 4 to 6 inclusive, show respectively and on a larger scale, and door mounted on the car, in full open, normally hung, and closed positions, respectively.

In the drawing, the door 138 for closing discharge openings upon opposite sides of the center sill 10 is preferably in one piece with a central opening 140 to clear the center sill and brake rod 127 during opening movements, as best shown in Figure 1, and made up of a continuouse body plate portion 141 having its upper margin fashioned to provide a hinge section 142 and reinforced by relatively vertical intermediate channel stifiening' members 143 and 144 spaced apart and traversing the door from top .to bottom thereof,

- to conform to the bulged portion 147 of the I r with hinge section 109 welded to the underside of the intermediate sloping floor plates 101 at the respective door openings, and c0-- operating therewith to pivotally support the doors. To preserve the contour of the door hinge portion 142, the flanges 146 of respective stiffeners. 143, 144 and 145are cut out hinge and fillet weldedias shown.

Theydoor is further strengthened by the addition of rigi'difying longitudinal edge members 151 disposed upon opposite sides of i outside elevational viewof the door, an end central opening and extending therefrom 7 across the upper ends of respective stifleners 143, 144 and 145 to whichthey are welded, to points adjacent the door ends. As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, the longitudinal members 151 are preferably channel shaped with their '75 web portions 152 Welded to overlapping webs of the vertical stiifeners. The longitudinal door, constitute with the door panel 141, box

sections of great rigidity to distribute the loads imposed uniformly between the ends '90 140, but preferably by insertinga length of channel section 155 between adjacent stifleners and welding same to them and. theimmediate section of the panel to form with associated stiffeners, an offset box girder reinforcement for the door at the hinge edge.

'1: 5 The door framing system is completed by the application of an additional longitudinal member 156 of pressed metal channel section extending along the free edge of the door and beyond the inclined end braces 145 to provide door lock engaging portions 157 to be presently described. The channel beam is provided with substantially horizontal upper flange portions 158 disposed at an angle to the door panel 141 and secured to stiffeners 143, 144 and 145, and a. downwardly and inwardly flanged lower portion 159, and welded to door panel 141 to form box girders of maximum rigidity between the lock engaging portions 157 before noted. The lock engaging portions are formed preferably by turning up adjacent sections of the upper flange 158 extending from the outer flange 146 of inclined stiffeners 145 to adjacent ends of the beam.

The lock bearing flanges 157 are welded at their respective inner ends to adjacent stifleners 145 and reinforced at their outer ends by gussets 160 welded thereto and adj acent ends of upper flanges 158 of the beam.

The flanges 157 are backed up by reinforcing brackets designed to close the open ends of the beam, the brackets being of Z-shape with securing flanges 162 welded to adjacent flanges 146 of stiffeners 145 and outer secur ing end closure flanges 163 welded to adja-' cent edges of the beam, as best shown in Figures 1 and 2, the web 161 of the brackets extending between said securing flanges to close the space between adjacent beam flanges 158 and 159, to thereby provide a rigid box beam extension for engagement with the door locking devices on the car.

As before stated, the doors are hung upon hinge sections 109 forming part of the respective intermediate sloping floor plates 101. The sections 109 are indicated asseparately formed pressed metal members extending continuously across the car between adjacent outside hopper sheets. They serve at once to provide mountings for the several doors and to reinforce the floor plates 101- defining the upper edge of the respective of the hinge section 109 on-the car andtheir respective curved edges 149 and 167f The hinge parts are so proportioned with respect to each other that with the intervening connection 150 in position between 'them'as'indicated' in Figures 4,5, and 6, the hinges will be held from separation in all positions of the door. I

With the door closed as indicated in Figure 6, hinge flanges 166 and 167 will be entered in the groove 168 complementing the bulged upper section 147 of the door panel 141' Flanges 166 and 167 will engage adjacent portions of the groove to limit upward and inward movement of the corresponding flanges 148 and 149 on the door, whereby the hinge parts will be held from separation by the intervening bulk of tubular connection 150 which, in position, will prevent the passage of the overhanging curved flange 149 of the door hinge thru space 169 between connection 150 and adjacent floor plates of the car by virtue of the engagement of the door plate 141 at the groove position with adjacent flange 166 of section 109.

The relation between the hinge parts with the door hanging normallyopen as shown in Figure 5,'indicates a slight movement of the connection 150 inwardly and away from curved edge portion 167 by rolling or sliding under the weight of the door as the door swings from the closed position illustrated in Figure 6. During this movement of the connection the curved edge 149 of overhanging door hinge flange 148 will enter the space 170 between the connection and inner'face of flange 165 of the hinge on the car, in position to engage said flange as depicted in Figure 5. In this position, the curved edge 167 of flange 166 on hinge .section -109 will engage door. panel 141 in-groove 168 toat all times maintain a proper operating relation between the hinge sections on car and door whereby the edges of curved flanges 149 and 167 will be prevented from biting into the metal of respectively adjacent hinge portions, and thus protected from possible distortion under load; This operating relation continues until the door has reached its limit of opening movement whereupon the door hinge flange 148 will engage the hinge part 164 on the car and the door held from abnormal movement under lading thrust.

From the foregoing, it will be noted that the doors are pivotally hung and held in operative position upon associated hinge members on the car by interposing a bar or tube between the hinge on the door and that on the car and may be removed by the mere withdrawal of the interposed bar, as before outlined.

Obviously, the particular type of hinge described may be adapted to function as an interlocking joint between contiguous members in fixed relation, as between walls, roof, and floor sections of knockdown containers and the like, and such construction is contemplated within the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a dump car, the combination comedges, hollow stiflening members reinforcing said hinge and the free edge of the door, the latterextending with its opposite ends by the ends of the door to provide door lock bearing portions, and hollow stiffening members connecting said longitudinals across the 7 panel, said stiflening members forming with said panel box girder reinforcements, all united by welding.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 10th day of October, 1931. a WILLIAM H. MUSSEY.

J R. RUDULPH.

prising doors pivotally hung transversely of the car from side to side and provided with an intermediate opening at the hinged margin thereof to receive a center sill, said marginal portion upon opposite sides of said opening having outwardly bulged rigidifying portions formed to provide door hanging flanges, an associate hingeinember on the car having a flange portion adapted to underlie said door hinge flange, and interlocking means intermediate said flanges for pivotally retaining said doors.

2. In a dump car, the combination comprising doors pivotally hung transversely of the car from side to side and provided with extended integral hinge portions formed along the upper margins thereof with flanges projecting rearwardly of the door panel and terminating in curved marginal portions adapted to pivotally support the doors, complemental hinge portions on the car having curved marginal flange portions adapted to underlie said door flanges, and common interlockin means intermediate said flanges for opera ly retaining said doors.

3. A door for dump cars comprising a single base plate member having parallel longitudinal edges and inclined marginal end portions, integral hinge flange portions extending along the upper margin of the plate, hollow stiffening members reinforcing the upper margin of the plate and terminating at the inclined marginal end portions of the door, a hollow beam secured along the lower margin of the plate and extending with its opposite ends beyond the inclined edges of the door to provide door lock bearing portions, and hollow stiffening members connecting said longitudinals across the panel, said stiffening members forming with said panel box girder reinforcements, all united by welding.

4:- A door for dump cars, comprising a single base plate member having parallel longitudinal edges and an integral hinge flange portion extending along one of said 

